bla bla. desperate, crackle, pop.
On 7/16/07, Heath <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > From Yahoo news this morning....I "love" the last line > > "Out tag line is, 'We're the best content not on television," Felser > said. > > Makes me want to put all my videos there just so the tagline will be > invalid.... ;) > > LOS ANGELES - The online video site Grouper, which Sony Corp. bought > last year for $65 million, is exiting the crowded and risky user- > generated video business and focusing on finding professional talent > for Sony's film and TV studios. > > The site, which will change its name to Crackle, will serve as an > online talent agency, grooming budding professionals, funding > productions and connecting the best video writers, producers and > directors with contacts at Sony Pictures and a variety of partners, > including the Improv comedy clubs. > > The user-generated market is dominated by Google Inc.'s YouTube and > News Corp.'s MySpace, with Yahoo Inc. and AOL, a unit of Time Warner, > also gathering homemade videos. > > It is becoming increasingly hard for smaller players to stand out and > deal with the many copyright issues that arise when users upload > unauthorized clips of films or TV shows or use music in the videos > without permission. > > "It's not a business for us," Grouper founder and co-president Josh > Felser said of user-generated video. "The content is rarely exclusive > and it's hard to monetize. Advertisers don't want their content next > to a video of someone jumping off a roof and falling on their head." > > Crackle will fund episodic shows or short videos and winners will be > chosen by a combination of editors and user votes. > > The creators of top-rated videos will be given funding, ranging from > $2,000 to $20,000, for additional episodes and a chance to pitch > feature film ideas to executives at Columbia Pictures, a Sony company. > > "The evolution of online video will bring viewers more professionally > produced material," said Sean Carey, senior executive vice president > of Sony Pictures. > > Creators will also vie for a chance to pitch TV ideas to Sony > Pictures Television. Animators, too, will get a chance to turn their > short video into feature-length Sony animated films. > > Each year, one animated video will be chosen to run theatrically, > making it eligible for an Academy Award. > > "We're creating pathways to Hollywood and fame," Felser said. > > Crackle uses peer-to-peer technology to syndicate content across > other platforms, including AOL and MySpace. > > The site also has a budget to promote the content. > > "Out tag line is, 'We're the best content not on television," Felser > said. > > Heath > http://batmangeek.com > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
